Once Upon a Midnight Valentine
by Harmonic Wisp
Summary: After the anticipated "Valentine's day Youma brawl" goes horribly wrong, Minako, Rei, Ami, and Makoto wake up to a seemingly normal day. Unfortunately, "normal" will almost always be a misconception. There's only catholic school mini skirts and chaos.


Disclaimer: I don't own _Sailor Moon_, nor do I own any of Naoko Takeuichi's awesome characters. I only own this particular story, the concept, and the carpal tunnel syndrome in my wrists. All original characters also belong to me. Don't distribute my work or original characters without my permission, kthx.

Summary: After the anticipated "Valentine's day Youma brawl" goes horribly wrong, Minako, Rei, Ami, and Makoto wake up to a seemingly normal day. Unfortunately, "normal" will almost always be a misconception. There's only catholic school mini skirts and chaos.

There was a flurry of blinks, as if the brunette had just seen something unbelievable and was currently trying to blink the image away.

"Eh? I'm sorry, can you repeat that Akira-kun?"

No, rather it was a bafflement caused by _something said_. She must've heard wrong, because she could've sworn she just heard..

"Makoto-nee-san, if- if you're not busy Valentine's day, would you like to.." The poor boy blushed furiously, he barely had the courage to say the words the first time. Unfortunately, repeating it did not make it easier. If nothing else, he was more flustered by the growing second!

The person in question could only sigh, slightly disgruntled by the invitation. _'So I had heard right, this one will be hard..'_ As she thought this, the brunette easily placed the heavy box of gardening supplies on the shop's counter before gesturing Akira to do the same. He blinked, confusion riddled his face as he quietly placed the other box next to its counterpart. Makoto inwardly gave another sigh, she was right after all, this _would_ be hard. They had been working together at this small gardening store for the past four years. But because she was a senior in high school, he was her _kouhai_ by two years. They were close in a sibling type of way, and she had always found his antics at the shop when they were together cute. But unfortunately, this..

"Um.. Akira-kun, I'm sorry but.."

An hour later, the tall brunette slurped her slushie in glum silence, her deed repeated in slight detail for the three girls before her. Their reactions ranged from sympathy to slight amusement. ".. and we didn't speak for the last thirty minutes that I was there. It was horrible!"

"Aww, poor Akira-kun! I mean, I've known about his little puppy love for you for a while, but this-"

"Was really bad luck on his part." Minako glared at the person who had cut her off, in this case Rei, and promptly returned to viciously stabbing her sundae like she had been for the past ten minutes that they had been here. It was their weekly senshi-meeting-turned-rant-session, and for once it wasn't at the shrine, nor were they eating at Motoki's arcade for the billionth time in the row. No, today was a special meeting. A very special meeting that was also kept secret from Usagi.

Thankfully, the person in question was at the beach enjoying some quality time with her family.

But that left four (noticeably brooding) teenage girls at a slightly more expensive out door cafe, with an awkward silence that encompassed the group in such a way that the waiters of the establishment had unconsciously begun to avoid their little corner. Even the surrounding tables were empty. Of course, the teens in question had no qualms against this, as they were currently too engrossed in the rise of "incidents" that had happened during the past week. It was top priority that they discussed and dealt with the situation as soon as possible, before it got too out of hand.

Like Akira's confession to Makoto for instance.

Ami's ears tinged red, slightly embarrassed by their so called "code red" predicament. Despite the ridiculousness of the situation, even _she_ had been affected. How in the name of Mercury _they_ had found her, she still didn't know.

And like a true leader (and possibly because of her particular _area of expertise_), Minako quietly halted her assault on her now demented sludge of a sundae and eyed her planetary sisters with a rather serious look in her eye. Ami drifted back to her previous thoughts, thinking that despite the ridiculous situation, it _was _still senshi business. The blond leader quietly looked at her finely manicured nails, inspecting them slightly before finally speaking.

"So that makes your third one this week." She counted the "incidents" she was aware of on her fingers, nodding to Makoto who gave a shy nod in affirmation. "Ami's on her fourth-"

This elicited a blush on the aforementioned person as she remembered where the last three took place. "I was even in a library in the _next town _over.." The other three girls grinned, although sympathetic none the less. Somehow, the former Mercurian princess' attempts to hide for the remaining week were foiled by three _very_ enthusiastic boys from the town's chess league. None mentioned the unspoken level of "creepy" that particular scenario achieved.

Shaking her head, Minako cleared her throat and raised up a full hand of fingers.. and a pinkie on the other hand. The grin disappeared from the shrine maiden's face as they all realized who held _that_ record. "And Rei, you have-"

"Yes, six." The raven haired teen took a rather forceful bite out of her slice of pizza, having chosen actual food rather than an indulging snack like the others. Why spend money on sweets when she could easily pick at the _stack of chocolates_ piled in her room? Rei found her eye twitching at the stray sarcastic thought. It wasn't even the day to give them yet, so how had she managed to get so many already?! It was unnerving, to say the least. Due to her duties to the shrine, she wasn't capable of dodging her pursuers like Ami had tried to do. Shaking her head of annoying thoughts, she turned her attention to their ever vigilant leader. "So Minako, how many have _you_ had?" The question was voiced, but she knew that Makoto and Ami were just as curious as she was. After all, being the self proclaimed "Goddess of Love", the answer _had_ to be interesting.

"Zero." Rei stopped mid bite in surprise, raising an eyebrow at the scion of _Venus_, accompanied by a look that obviously stated her disbelief. She looked towards the other two, not surprisingly seeing Ami at a loss for words and their resident brunette staring at Minako as if she had just grown another head. Before Makoto could utter a word, their leader merely lifted a finger to silence the girl and gave a quiet smile. "Nope, none."

"Actually, I counted twelve." The look of mature triumph was ripped off the blonde's face as they all swiveled their heads towards the source of the voice. Artemis gave them all a very cat like smile, glad for the fact that they had been seated at a table right by the metal fence that signaled the cafe's property. "Or at least, twelve _almosts_."

"You've been tailing me, you snooping cat." Minako twitched, very tempted to point an accusing finger at the white feline, but decided otherwise. No need to bring any unwanted attention towards their table just because of a 'seemingly' innocent cat.

"Almosts?" Ami, slightly more composed now that the world didn't seem like it had just turned upside down, idly sipped at her iced tea as she glanced between their leader and the feline advisor. Considering the noticeable glint in his eye, the explanation _had_ to be amusing, to say the least.

"Nine guys and three girls _almost_ confessed and _almost_ asked her out for that day but.." He muffled a snicker, glancing at his charge as she attempted to ignore them all by eating what was left of her sundae. "She rocketed off each time before any of them could so much as start a conversation."

Makoto gnawed on her straw as she plucked it out from the slushie with her teeth, staring at Minako with a look of amazement and curiosity. "All twelve? And you knew what they wanted before they even said a word? How?"

"Er.." The blonde stared at the chocolate-vanilla swirl on her spoon, somehow embarrassed by the current tide of conversation. "I think it's a kind of 'Venusian 6th sense' in a way. I can kind of tell what others are _feeling_ when it comes to.. to.. things of _that nature_."

The table could only nod, somewhat understanding of Minako's situation. As the years have gone by, the girls have found themselves with a developing sensitivity to certain things. Some have had it for some time now, like Rei's affinity for fire, or Minako's "good sense" for who was good for who. But now, existing senses have gotten stronger, and others have developed.. interesting traits. Like when the avatar of Jupiter was tending her garden and could've almost sworn that she had heard her ferns arguing with her daisies.

"Well, as amusing as it is to watch Minako escape her pursuers by running up a fire escape.." He eyed the girls, all of whom he felt he was obligated to watch over, and had been for the past.. five, maybe even six years? "But is it really necessary for you to completely ignore Valentine's day?"

Instantly, all four of the girls' eyes averted his gaze and found something else to stare at, ignoring the feline who brought up the one day they've been all dreading for various reasons. Yes, their "code red" situation had to do with the elusive day when the candy industry's profits skyrocketed and couples enjoyed a day of each other's company. Artemis noted the almost depressing atmosphere that surrounded the girls, sighing in slight exasperation but not saying a word.

"Are we even sure if _It_ will come again this year?"

Pulled from their rather gloomy demeanors, Rei didn't even look at the bluenette genius as she stared at the remains of her pizza, suddenly not very hungry anymore. "Ami, you're the logical one, remember? _It_ came last year, and the year before that.."

"And the year before that!" Makoto interrupted, gnawing angrily on her straw as she spoke with it in her mouth. "That stupid Youma! If it really _doesn't_ come this year, I'll be pissed because we're sacrificing a hell of a lot to fight it _again_." As if demonstrating how mad she was, the brunette instantly punched her fist into her palm. An audible smack could be heard, causing a few of the waiters to nervously glance at the angry woman who was obviously fuming for some reason or another.

But it was true, she had reason to be angry. Despite Galaxia's defeat three years ago, the Sailor Senshi had not entirely disappeared. This was due to the odd Youma appearance now and again. They were annoying at best, and usually only one or two of the senshi were needed to take it out.

That is, except for the Valentine's day Youma.

This one was special, to say the least. The first time they had encountered it, they obliterated it without problem and even managed to sneak back to their dates for the evening. The second time, there was some confusion. Hadn't they killed it just last year? Regardless, they defeated it _again_ but it took a little longer that time. There were questions from their dates from that year, but they had all managed to dodge it by attributing their disappearances to the chaos the Youma had caused.

Last year, on the other hand, was such a horrible incident that just the _mere _thoughtof the Youma made most of them angry. By a rare chance, all of them had managed to get a date for Valentine's day. Even the normally shy Ami had been coerced to go on a friendly dinner date with a friend from the Chess Club.

That is, until _It_ showed up, for the third year in a row! Somehow it had gotten a lot stronger, thus taking _even longer_ to beat it. By then, it had been impossible to salvage the evening, especially since Rei had twisted her ankle and Minako had ended up with a heavy bruise on her shoulder that was too questionable to brush off.

In short, it was a Youma that would appear on Valentine's day each year regardless of how bad of a thrashing they gave it.

This year, in anticipation of the thing that had ruined three years worth of dates and fun, all four girls had been forced to turn down anyone who had the guts to ask. With a twinge of sympathy, Artemis thought on the fact that it was easier said than done for the four. Modesty be damned, they've gotten more attractive as the years have gone by, easily filling out certain areas of their body. You'd have to be a fool to not see how beautiful they were becoming.

Of course, none of them, not even Minako would admit this fact.

"You know, it's the first year that Usagi and Mamoru-kun will be celebrating Valentine's day as as an engaged couple." Makoto smiled wistfully, remembering how just three months ago the bubbly blonde had told them about the engagement.

"Yeah, so let's not blow it." Rei had long since given up on trying to finish what little was left of the slice and had already pulled out her money for her part of the bill.

"Hey!" Minako skillfully hooked her arm with Rei and Ami's, leading the group out of the cafe. "We'll whoop that stupid Youma's butt so badly it won't want to come back. Operation: Victory Valentine is in effect!"

And soon enough, they were teasing their blonde leader for her poor naming skills. In just a few more days, they'd have a fight on their hands. But they'd be able to handle it.. right?

And yet, as if foreshadowing what would possibly be a very.. _epic_ chapter of their not-so-normal-lives, someone had been watching them two buildings down and on the roof.

"Yeah, sure. As if _I'd_ let that happen." There was a pompous snort, the mysterious speaker chuckling before promptly disappearing from his spot on the roof of the nearby building.

Just a few more days, and they'd have something interesting on their hands.

_He'd_ make sure of it.

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A/N: Well that's the first chapter. This is just a nifty concept that came to mind and was far too amusing for me to _not_ write. I think it's a little slow right now, but later on I hope it'll pick up some speed.. I hope. So bare with me, eh?


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